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mackinaw

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Everything posted by mackinaw

  1. That was a very interesting read. Sounds like batteries are very difficult to manufacture, especially in volume. And GM kind of shot themselves in the foot by not hiring new engineers who understand this new technology. I see GM just hired a Tesla battery engineer to right the ship. He's got his work cut out for him.
  2. Which will end up being one gigantic compromise. EV's and ICE are just too different to think that one generic platform can do each drivetrain justice.
  3. Ford went from 202,000 employees in 2017 to 173,000 employees in 2022. They added 4,000 employees in 2023. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/F/ford-motor/number-of-employees
  4. From the Detroit News: Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in September alongside six other industry veterans, the Dearborn nonprofit said Friday. Ford is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, who founded the Dearborn automaker 120 years ago. Since becoming executive chairman a quarter of a century ago, Ford has overseen the company through tumultuous periods in the industry from when it staved off bankruptcy during the Great Recession to the ongoing historic transformation toward zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles. Ford offers a "values-driven approach that demonstrates corporate responsibility and success can go hand in hand," according to a news release. "He was an early and influential advocate for sustainability and environmental responsibility, a driving force behind mobility innovation, and continues to be a champion for the revitalization of the Motor City." https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2024/02/16/automotive-hall-of-fame-induct-bill-ford-edelbrock-john-james-wendell-scott-motherson/72629064007/
  5. And now we have this: "UAW threatens new strike at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant if local contract isn't resolved" https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2024/02/16/uaw-threatens-strike-ford-kentucky-truck-plant-local-contract-negotiations/72629651007/?csp=chromepush
  6. I thought stainless steel didn't rust. Apparently I'm wrong. https://jalopnik.com/why-tesla-cybertrucks-are-rusting-despite-being-made-of-1851257091
  7. Shawn Fain's response: "UAW President Shawn Fain slams Ford CEO's comments on 'manufacturing footprint" https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2024/02/15/ford-ceo-says-company-will-rethink-where-it-builds-vehicles-after-last-years-autoworkers-strike/72612953007/
  8. From today's Detroit News. The recent UAW strike has changed things. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2024/02/15/ford-ceo-says-company-will-rethink-where-it-builds-vehicles-after-last-years-autoworkers-strike/72612953007/
  9. Very interesting article in the Detroit News. Ford Model E COO, Marin Gjaja, recently spoke at a panel discussing disruptive technology. He also mentions that the target price for the new Ford low cost EV line to be about $25,000-$30,000. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2024/02/14/ford-model-e-marin-gjaja-ev-market-chinese-automakers/72599365007/
  10. Suicide and gullwing doors? Yeah, right. Very little of what you see in this concept will see production. It's a nice design exercise though.
  11. Sure they're talking out both sides of their mouth, but Toyota Board Chair, Akio Toyoda, remains quite skeptical about EV's. He sees EV adoption rate peaking at 30% with the remainder being split between hybrids and hydrogen powered vehicles. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/toyota-chairman-doubles-down-electric-111721568.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAfAhfo2m5kvRE3m6DZPcUVCfBpFCn9cet6DKS2BJ68tExQozd9OOZKZDMBgAEme8A1J0zXroDLNiTcU2gKduhf7lVQJR6Mpzh286YIB4dEyXmYWbGIPIxrBw6j1pTt1gy4tl73WiTFHZvZEuP_kUcwpR6z96KaETqkdFon7wLwY#:~:text=Toyoda estimated that fully-electric,in aggressively pushing electric vehicles.
  12. Maybe pertinent to this discussion. "Toyota says goodbye to electric cars and focuses on hydrogen – “They are not the solution” https://lagradaonline.com/en/toyota-electric-cars-hydrogen-solution/
  13. Definitely. That question was asked several times by investors on the earning's call. Wall Street is patient, for now.
  14. On this topic, if you have 20 minutes, read through the transcript of the recent 2023 fourth quarter earning's call. https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2024/02/07/ford-motor-company-f-q4-2023-earnings-call-transcr/
  15. To placate Wall Street. Remember this was an earnings call with investors.
  16. This doesn't surprise me. Farley's already said the lack of an affordable EV keeps him up at night. Plus that BYD scares him more than Tesla. Not surprising they're developing a low-cost EV.
  17. And they're still facing parts shortages. I read that both F-series plants were down for 5-6 days in January, due to supply chain issues. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2024/02/02/ford-shut-f150-production-layoffs-dearborn-kansas-city/72440430007/
  18. Declining sales? 2023 sales in the U.S. were up over 7% from 2022.
  19. Nobody's mentioned cost so far. A quick search shows that stainless steel costs substantially more than conventional carbon steel. I wonder about repair costs too.
  20. Actually 50,000 Cybertrucks/year is too high. Because of battery difficulties, it's closer to 25,000 units/year. As Elon puts it, "we dug our own grave with the Cybertruck." https://www.thestreet.com/electric-vehicles/heres-the-major-production-problem-limiting-teslas-cybertruck-scalability
  21. Morgan Stanley estimates that Tesla will only sell 50,000 Cybertrucks/year. https://insideevs.com/news/656606/morgan-stanley-cybertruck-low-volume-prediction/
  22. It actually wasn't all that cold. Last week was bitter cold with daytime temps in the single digits. This week is mild. I wish I had more time to talk to the Ford engineer, but he was busy looking at data on his tablet. I did learn that not all Tesla chargers are created equal. There are several varieties with the chargers at the Gaylord site the older type, which won't be compatible with Ford EV's. The newest version Tesla chargers will be. I briefly talked to a gal engineer from one of the other companies who asked me which EV I liked the best. I told her northern Michigan was truck country, so the Lightning.
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